1992-1999Series I L27 (1992-1994 SE,SLE, SSE) & Series II L36 (1995-1999 SE, SSE, SLE) and
common problems for the Series I and II L67 (all supercharged models 92-99) Including Olds 88's, Olds LSS's and Buick Lesabres
Please use General Chat for non-mechanical issues, and Performance and Brainstorming for improvements.

Many of you already know of the ignition problem that developed on my recent trip to CA for a death in the family. For those who don't, I'll make it simple. My #3 wire shorted against the dipstick tube, causing an intermittent miss over the summit. I had a 'redneck fix' done by a mechanic in Middletown, CA to get me back.

The new set of Taylors and new NGK V-Power TR6 plugs went in on Sunday. I replaced the plugs because of fouling on the #3 from the bad wire. After the plugs and wires (and stabilizer endlinks), the car had a HORRIBLE miss. By this time it was raining and dark, so I drove the car home, and went back the next morning to troubleshoot.

Here'* what I found:

Broken #2 plug. I haven't broken a plug in years, and didn't feel it when I installed it. I can only assume a flaw in the ceramic insulator that failed when the engine started. This causes a short to the cylinder head, not to the electrode in the cylinder:

Here'* a pic of the 'rednecked #3) removed, and the two wires behind it? Those are 2 new Taylor'*. The #2 and the #3. Both were reading 3x the resistance spec'd by Taylor. They call for 200 ohms +/- 20% per foot. These 2 wires were reading over 6kohms. I'll be contacting www.grandprixstore.com for their replacment. I had to use my 'old' #2, and used the 'old' #5 in place of the #3 (since that was the original problem):

Here you can see slight differences in the Taylor wires. The new wires have smoother boots, and a smoother outside cladding. Look at the #2 and #3:

Again, this is a different plug boot. The old #5 is installed on the #3 (in the middle) and a VAST improvement in Taylor'* boot design for the new wires that you can see on #1 and #5:

The missing caused by the bad plug and bad wires was worse, as it happened on sequential firing cylinders. The firing order is 1,6,5,4,3,2. So I had fire, fire, fire, fire, miss, miss.

Moral of the story? Use an ohmmeter to check your new wires before installing, and always carry the LONGEST wire from your old set as an emergency spare. If you have a Series 1, make sure the #3 wire isn't touching the dipstick tube. Car runs fine now, and will look better when I get the replacment matching taylors for the #2 and #3. I re-used one of the old TR6'*.....they were only 3 months old, and looked great. I just cleaned one up, re-gapped it, and put it in with the other 5. I'll pay close attention to the #2 plug when I change them next. The TR6'* are performing much better than the TR55'* with my mods. The car favors 2 heat ranges colder.